Favorite Restaurants Among the Locals – Volume II

We can hardly believe it, but as we sit here writing this, it is Labor Day here in New York City. We sure are excited for everything that comes with the new season; crisp air, the smell of burning wood, and some delicious hot apple cider from the Farmers Market in Union Square. Fall is one of our favorites. At the same time, we are sad to see a wonderful summer come to a close. This summer, we had the pleasure of hosting such groups of folks from all over the world. From South Africa and Israel to Toronto and Dallas, connecting with and hosting visitors (and also locals!) from various backgrounds has been the absolute highlight of our season. Not only does the summer season provide opportunities for downtime, travel and wonderful weather, but if you are local New Yorkers like we are, the weekends in the City are refreshingly quiet and relaxing. While hosts of New Yorkers escape the City heat by heading to the Hamptons and Fire Island to hit the beach, here at Metro Tours, we love the opportunity to take advantage of thinner crowds at some local favorite spots, especially restaurants.

So on that note, we wanted to put together another edition of our recurring series here on the blog: Favorite Restaurants Among the Locals. We hope that you will find this useful as you plan your next trip to the Big Apple.

Ok, so technically we cheated a little here on this one because we did include this restaurant in our last edition. But wait, hear us out. With the seasons changing, we thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that the menu and decor at Park Avenue change to reflect the current season. Go and enjoy all of those pumpkin fall vibes!

We don’t know about you, but something about the fall just makes us want to indulge in some warm BBQ. Maybe because it seems to pair so well with football season? With locations in various Manhattan neighborhoods, Mighty Quinn’s is a fast and casual spot that we think would be perfect for a lunch break in between daytime activities (which we of course hope will include a tour with us! https://metrotoursusa.com/group-walking-tours-new-york/).

If you plan to see a Broadway show while you are in the City (and we could go on and on about how many absolutely awesome on and off Broadway shows this City has to offer, we see a future blog post on this topic, but we digress…) Marseille is a theater staple for either a pre or post show meal. This French bistro caters to the theatre crowd, so the staff will be sure to get you out in plenty to time for your matinee or dinner show.

With two midtown locations, Avra is our absolute favorite for Greek food in NYC. Both locations have sprawling and beautiful interiors and menus at a bit of higher price point, either location is worthy of a special occasion. But if you ask us, being in NYC to begin with is a special enough occasion!

We were so thrilled to hear that this beloved Meatpacking District restaurant was being resurrected after closing back in 2014. Now re-opened only a few doors down from its original address, the 2.0 version of Pastis is somehow even better (in our humble opinion…) than the original. And added bonus: Pastis might be your best chance for a good, solid celeb sighting. For a full rundown on the fame and lore of this restaurant, we suggest reading this Grub Street article.

If any part of your trip to NYC includes time in SoHo (the neighborhood that gets its name for being South of Houston St.), you will likely need to work in some time to re-fuel after all that shopping. One flight of stairs below street level is Lure Fishbar. As you could probably guess, this is a spot for seafood lovers but there are non-fish options on the menu as well. Our suggestion is to head down in between meals when you will be likely to sit right down and enjoy some shared appetizers and cocktails. Our personal favorite is the Tempura Shrimp, with any of the fresh and delicious sushi rolls as a close second. Now, get back to that shopping!

Be sure to check back here regularly as we will continuously update the Metro Tours blog with both our favorite restaurants of the moment, and the staples that we always love. And as always, if you are looking for more specific recommendations by neighborhood, food type, atmosphere or budget, please feel free to reach out to us directly : laura@metrotoursusa.com or justin@metrotoursusa.com.